Street-cleaning apparatus



H, A. BOLDT.

STREET CLEANING APPARATUS,

APPLICATION FILED IULY I0, |920.

Patented Aug. 29,- 1922.

H. A. BOLDT.

STREET CLEANING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED IuLII Io, 1920.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

3 SHEETS-ST EET 2.

yx/frgb@ Hf. A. BOLDT.- STREET CLEANING. APPARATUS.

, APPLICATION FILED IULY I0, I920.

l 94g?, l 8g., v Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET IIIIIIIIII mlm! ver pf Llata HERBERT A. BOLDT, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

STREET-CLEANING APBARATUS.

Application filed July 10,

To all wwm if may concern.'

Be it known that I, HERBERT A. BoLDT, a cit-izen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Street-Cleaning Apparatus, of which the following is a'specilication.

This invention relates toa self-propelled apparatus which is adapted to remove objectionable material7 suc-h as snow, from the street or highway.

One of the objects of the invention is to break up and forcibly push the objectionable materal back into the shovel of the apparatus even when said material is firmly compacted. together and banked high up in the path of the machine. i A further object of the invention is to provide for the folding upof the conveyor when not in use so as to reduce the size of the apparatus when the same is idly travelling along` the street to or from its work. A still further object of the invention is to permit of the conveyor being so secured relatively'to the frame of the apparatus7 that the same may be extended to either one side or the other of thev machineI as may be desired with suitable provision made for the reversal in direction of movement of the conveyor belt which is thereby required.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of yieldable connections between the principal working parts of the apparatus so that danger of fracturing the same is avoided when the apparatus attempts to break up and remove impenetrable or heavy matter.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation of the complete street cleaning apparatus whichis the subject of the present invention. Figure 2 is avertical longitudinal section through the apparatus taken on line 2 2, Fig. 4. Figure '3 isa fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 337 Fig. 2, and showing the means of reversing the movement of the conveyor belt. Fi ure 4 is a rear elevation of the street cleaning apparatus. Figure 5 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the apparatus similar to er but with the Specification of Iletters Patent. Patnited Aug., 29, i922.

1920. serial No. 395,183.

conveyor extending out from the opposite side of the apparatus. Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the yieldable joint of the oscillating lever and co-operating parts.

Similar characters of reference indicate 'corresponding parts' throughout the several views.y

l0 represents the main horizontal `platform or frame plate of the street cleaning apparatus. the same being adapted to be moved along the street or roadway which is to be cleaned. For this purpose of portability. the platform l() is preferably provided at its front and rear ends with transversely disposed front and rear axles whose outer ends carry the large tread-wheels 11 and l2 respectively, which receive the ffront and rear turns of the endless horizontal belt treads 13. lntermediately'of the main tread wheels. these belt ytreads are suitably supported bv intermediate smaller tread wheels l-t. Extendingupwardly from the four corners of the main platform l0 are the front and rear supporting bars 16 and 17 which diverge longitudinally and outwardly away from each other. and are connected longitudinally together by means of a pair of longitudinally disposed but inclined elevator plates 18 which are arranged with their flat faces vertical and parallel to each other. The foregoing elements constitute the principal partsv of the main frame of the apparatus, the same being propelled along the ground by a suitable hydrocarbon or other prime mover 20 which drives the back axle of the apparatus through the medium of -a chain belt 2l. and suitable sprocket wheels mounted respectively on saidback axle and the crank sha ft of the prime mover.

Transversely pivoted at 22 to the frame of the apparatus and received between the elevator plates 18, is a normally inclined sheet metal scoop 28 whose lower or front end adapted to sweep forwardly on to of or near the surface of the street whicli is being cleaned.. Vhen the whole apparatus is traveling idly along the street to or from the place where it is operating, it is desirable to hold this scoop 23 in an eleroe lo i cio vated or inoperative position, as indicatedl by the dotted lines of Fig. 2. This is accomplished by means of -a small winch 25, which is transversely journaled in the iframe ofthe machine and has wrapped around its middle part a flexible hoisting cable 26, the rotation of the winch being accomplished manually by a suitable crank Iarm 27 and suitably held in position by the usual dog and ratchet mechanism (not shown). The cable 26 passes up through a vertical guide hole which is formed centrally in a transverse frame or stiifening bar 30 and ismade fast to suitable gripping hook 8l which is adapted to be secured to the front edge 'of the scoop 23 for the purpose of elevating the same by means ot said Winch. A

Transversely journaled at opposite ends of the elevator plates i8 are the iront and rear elevator shafts 32 and 38, respectively,

vto which are secured the sprockets 34. Ar-

ranged with its opposite turns about said sprockets is an endless elevator vchain belt 35 which is drivenfromthe prime mover 20 in a manner hereinafter to be described. Secured at suitable intervals to said endless `chain belt 35 are a plurality of elevator blades or buckets 36 each of which is arranged to project outwardly 'from said chain belt at substantially a right angle thereto. Thelower stretch of said chain belt 35 together vwith its elevator blades moves upwardly and rearwardly of the machine, thereby elevating the material which it is desired to have removed from the street, said material flowing from the upper face of the aforesaid scoop 23 backwardly and upwardly on the upper surface of an inclined transverse platform or runway 38, which extends across-between the inner faces lo' the inclined elevator plates 18 adjacent to the lower edges ofthe blades 36.

, Secured to the opposite ends of the front transverse elevator shaft 32 and outwardly of the frame of the apparatus, is a pair ot crank arms .40, whose eccentric crank pins ,4l are. pivotal tothe central parts of a pair of longitudinallyedisposed oscillating levers 42. Pivoted to theupper central part of the main frame of the apparatus on each side thereof at 39 is a link 43 whose lower end is yieldably pivoted at 44, as shown in Figs. l and' 6, to the eXtreme rear end of its com* panion oscillated lever 42. This yieldable connectionconsists of a helical compression spring45which is letinto a suitable slot 46 :inthe lowerend of each link 43 and bears with its lower end'against the end .tace of 1said slot 46.while its upper end bears against ,theflower face of the pivot pin 44, which lat- ,terisfree to .move vertically within said .'slot.. Thus when an unduly great upward forceis exerted on the front end of theosci'llatingflever 42,-the pivot pin 44 thereofl instead of acting directly on the .link 43,

presses resiliently downwardly against the said compression spring 45.

The two oscillating levers 42 are joined at their extreme front ends by a transverse tie bar 47, to which is secured a rearwardly and longitudinally-eXtending arm 48. To the front downward portion of said arm 48 are 'Secured one or more picks or digger fingers 50 which project downwardly at a right angle thereto and are adapted to dig into and break up any large, heavy or compacted masses ot' material which may liein the path oit the machinein tbe manner shown by dotted lines in Fig. l. When any one or more ot these picks become brokenor unduly worn down,the same may be removed by cutting oil' the rivets 5l and replacing the said picks.

kCentrally of the arm 48is secured a downwardly-projecting vibrating bracket 52 to whose lower end is suitably, secured a transversely disposed vibrating iingerj. The mechanical or structural connection between this vibrating finger and the oscillating levers 42 is Avery indirect and hence isl of a resilient nature, as is apparentfrom the construction, so that, as the said oscillating levers' are driven in a curved path by means of the cranks 40 and as the` whole machine moves along the street, this-vibrating finger is caused to whipback and `forth by reason of the combined vibration of the machine and the irregularity of the vpiles of material. Such a resilient or a whipping, vibrating `action facilitates the-entrance into and;

the blades `36 of the endless elevator chain belts 35. l f t Theelevator at its upper end discharges or drops the material onto the upper stretch of a transverselyv disposed conveyor belt 56 whose opposite turns pass around belt pulleys 57 and which is centrally/supported by a supporting pulley 58`and is guided downwardly upon the upper lface of its lower stretch byvmeans ofl a pair of guide pulleys 5.9; all ot `saidfpulleys being preferably At the extreme rear end 1of the dished. yas shown in the drawings. This conveyor belt -is driven byv a suitable chain 60 which passes with its oppositeturnsaround suitable sprocket wheels 6l whichl are secured 'to the rear ends oi the shafts upon which said end 'beltpulleys 157 are mounted land v ,c

to which they are secured. The lower stretch of the conveyor chain belt preferably passes around a pair of suitable guide wheels 610 that are preferably not provided with sprocket teethbut are merely dishe'd. The said chain 60 is driven by and meshes with a'drivinp` sprocket 62, the chain being held thcrcagainst so vto remain positively in engagement therewith by reason of an idler or ack sprocket wheel 63 which is mounted on a suitable short stud shaft 64. The said driving sprocket 62 is secured to the rear end of a longitudinal, horizontal drive shaft 65 which is suitably journaled in t1 main ne frame of the machine and carries at its eX- treme front end, a crown gear 66. The latter, as best shown in Fig. 8, is adapted to mesh on either' the one or the other of its sides with a spur gear 67 which is adapted to be secured in either of said positions upon the spline 68 of a. transverse shaft 69 by means of a set screw 70, said transverse shaft being suitably journaled at 71, 71 in the frame of the machine. Pinned or otherwise permanently secured to said transverse shaft is an intermediate sprocket wheel 7 3 which is driven by a chain belt 74: whose lower turn engages with a rear axle sprocket wheel 7 5 which is secured to the rear axle of the appa rat-us. This rear axle is power connected to` the engine or prime mover 20 by means of the chain belt 21, as heretofore described, suitable friction clutches being interposed in this or any other of the power lines, if desired. The one outer end of said transverse shaft 69 is provided with a small elevator driving sprocket wheel 76 which engages the lower turn of an elevator belt ch ain 77 which latter in turn drives the rear transverse elevator shaft heretofore described. The power transmission to the conveyor belt may be completely disconnected by shifting the spur gear 67 to any position intermediate of the positions thereof shown in Fig. 3, in which case the teeth of the same will not mesh with the teeth of the crown gear 66.

Referring to Fig. l, it will be seen that the conveyor belt 56 is mounted on a conveyor frame having a knuckle or hinge joint 7 8 in the middle thereof, so that the projecting part of the conveyor may be folded up vertically, so as to make the apparatus more compact when the same is traveling idly along the street. This folding action, it will be noticed, does not interfere with the conveyor chain belt 60, inasmuch as the hinge joint 7 8 of the conveyor frame is positioned outwardly of the jack or idler sprocket wheel 63, so that, as a result, sait conveyor chain belt 60 merely becomes less taut when the outer end of the conveyor is folded up, which feature of construction is a distinct advantage when said chain belt is to be replaced or repaired.

The conveyor frame comprises two pairs of transversely disposed, parallel conveyor beams 80 and 81. In the arrangement thereof shown in Fig. 4t, earch of the'beains 81 is secured to the main frame of the apparatus by removable bolts 82. and rests upon a pair `of horizontal, longituilinal stringers S3 so as to relieve the stress-which would otherwise be imposed on the said removable bolts 82. lWhen operating conditions make the same desirable, the conveyor beams 80 may be directly secured to the machine, as shown in Fig. 5. instead of the beams 81. In such case the hinge or knuckle joint 78 operates precisely as before, allowing the outer part of the conveyor frame to be folded up vertically. Such a rearrangement of the conveyor requires of course that the conveyor belt be driven in the opposite direction. This is accomplished by shifting the spur gear 67 to the opposite side of the crown gear 66 as heretofore described.

l claim a-s my invention:

l. A street cleaning apparatus comprising a frame, an endless belt elevator, a scoop pivoted to said frame in front of said elevator, a crank journaled on said frame, a vertically oscillating lever pivoted centrally to said crank, a link pivoted at opposite ends to the rear end of said oscillating lever and to the said frame, and a shovel plate connected to the front end of said oscillating ylever and positioned at all times in substantially the same angular position.

2. A street cleaning apparatus comprising a frame, an endless belt elevator, a scoop pivoted to said frame in front of said elevator, a crank journaled on said frame, a vertically oscillating lever pivoted centrally to said crank, a link pivoted at opposite ends to the rear end of said oscillating lever and to the said frame, and a shovel plate connected to the front end of said oscillating lever and arranged to move substantially parallel to the upper surface of the scoop at the lower portion of its strbke.

3. A street cleaning apparatus comprising aframe, an elevator, a conveyor projecting out from the apparatus proper and provided with a knuckle joint whereby the two halves of the conveyor may be folded relatively to each other, and means arranged to permit of either half of said conveyor being rigidly secured to the apparatus proper so as to permit of the companion half of said conveyor being folded vertically.

4C. A. street cleaning apparatus compris ing a frame, an elevator, a conveyor provided centrally with a knuckle joint and so arranged that either desired half of said conveyor may be secured rigidly to the said frame of said apparatus and the other half folded vertically relatively thereto, conveyor belt pulleys journaled at opposite ends of said conveyor and provided with sprock ets, a driving sprocket journaled centrally of the frame of the apparatus, and .a Chain helt passing around said driving sprocket and said'belt sprockets.

5. A street cleaning apparatus eomprising a frame, an elevator, a transversely dis- 5 posed conveyor projecting out from the apparatus properr and power driven from a driving sprocket shaft, a crown gear mounted on saidshaft, a'driving spur gear mounted on a transverse power shaft and capa* ble of being shifted along said shaft so as to mesh with either desired side of said crown gear, and means for driving said transverse shaft.

HERBERT A. BoLnT, 

